375h&h on elk

[FredIII]

This is a 30-06 with 165 TGK I would not think twice to shoot an elk at 500 yards with it in proper conditions.

 

[FredIII]

Asking what a 300 wm does at 500 is not really a question that one can answer in any definite way. The bullet matters a lot more than the chamber. A 180 nosler partition is not going to be nearly as affective at 500 as say a 212 eldx would be and the wind drift and drops would be much different. The retained energy is much different and there is really not a comparison.

 

[FredIII]

Killed this bull with a 300 wm at 525yards. 210 Berger hunters gave him a bloody nose.

They were going 2925 at the muzzle and I believe it was 7moa of dial to hit him twice in the lungs in very rapid succession.

 

[Whitworth375]

375 H&H with 300gr Federal PowerShoks worked for me!

 

[channelkat]

I guess I assumed we were talking about a typical hunting round (Poco's 180gr accubond vs 260 gr chart is kind of what I assuming folks would be using). I understand the 375 is generally not going to be shooting as flat at 500 yards as a 300 WM, but wondered to what degree on a hunting round. I need to look around at all this cool balistics software folks are now using.

 

[FredIII]

375 H&H with 300gr Federal PowerShoks worked for me!
View attachment 583886

That's a really good bull.do you have a picture of the rifle you could share. Super cool picture of you and the bull. Congrats

 

[FredIII]

I guess I assumed we were talking about a typical hunting round (Poco's 180gr accubond vs 260 gr chart is kind of what I assuming folks would be using). I understand the 375 is generally not going to be shooting as flat at 500 yards as a 300 WM, but wondered to what degree on a hunting round. I need to look around at all this cool balistics software folks are now using.

It's definitely not factory ammo that gets it done past 500 on a regular basis that world belongs to the hand loaded stuff.

 

[channelkat]

My 375 has really grown on me, but I don't really have the opportunity to shoot it long range (>300) yards very often. I don't ever see myself taking an initial shot much past that distance anyway, but I would like to practice.

You guys dialed in to those west side Roosvelt are most impressive. I think if your consistent with blacktail/ and Roosies in the PNW then you are probably going to be consistent anyplace.

 

[FredIII]

You guys dialed in to those west side Roosvelt are most impressive. I think if your consistent with blacktail/ and Roosies in the PNW then you are probably going to be consistent anyplace.

Knowing this means you have been here or live close.
Thank you for the compliment we hunt our butts off blacktail are the ghost of monster Whitetail.
I've been very fortunate to have a great family that taught me to hunt and friends that are killing machines.

 

[channelkat]

I moved to WA as a youngster, from a non hunting family. I am far from dialed in, but more than a 400" Rocky Mountain, my bucket list is a Roosevelt on the Olympic Peninsula. I have all but given up on hunting in WA, but for the dream of taking a bull out of that rainforest.

 

[Whitworth375]

That's a really good bull.do you have a picture of the rifle you could share. Super cool picture of you and the bull. Congrats

Interarms Whitworth, has a Redfield 3x9 on it that has never let me down. Was my dads favourite large gane rifle

 

[JG26Irish_2]

No elk here. But, I did harvest a nice WV whitetail this past season just for fun, with the 375H&H using a 250g Trophy Bonded Bear Claw to do the job. It dropped in its tracks at about 110y range. The optic at the time was a Leupold 1.5-4x. While it did the job, I decided that it was not a good fit for up coming Africa trip and later swapped it out. The rifle is a FN Browning Safari Grade. Its lil brother is in 308.

My normal deer rifle is an old custom Mauser with a Douglas bbl chambered in 270 Win. I usually use 150g Nosler with it and have never had a deer escape, even with one that was poorly placed, it was still downed. Most drop or travel a few yds first. I would not hesitate to use it on elk.

As for 375 ballistics. My normal loads for this rifle are 300g at about 2500-2550fps. Barnes X or Swift A-Frame and Woodleigh Hydros. All shoot to close to same POI. I zero at 150y. It is on inch high from 50-120y. At zero at 130-160y. Out past that it drops one extra inch for each 10y longer range from 170 thru about 260y beyond that it is an extra 2 inches drop from 270 to 350y. It groups about 4" at 300y. That is not tack driver but I am shooting from sticks not the bench. I am pretty confident with it out to 300y. Just have not shot it much beyond that range. In fact since upgrading the scope, I have not shot it at all past the 100y range. But, will be doing so soon.

 

[Safari Dave]

One big positive with a .375 on elk would be have you would not need to use premium bullets. Older, cup & core bullets like Federal PowerShok, Winchester Power Points, or Remington Core-Lokts should be fine.

 

[JG26Irish_2]

I think that bullet placement and quality would matter far more than the caliber being used. Just my opinion. Remember the old Swift ad tag line, "Swift bullets, the cheapest, most important part of your hunt." A box of premium bonded or x-bullets is cheap insurance for a successful hunt. A guided Western Elk hunt often costs more than a trip to Africa. My choice would be to use the best bullets I can obtain that shoot well with my rifle at expected shooting distances.

We were just having a discussion on this subject at my gun club among about six very experienced Western hunters about rifles used to kill Elk and Antelope. One hunter used a 270 and was teased by his hunting buddies for being "over-gunned". They were all using 243 for elk. All of them except one tagged an elk with their 243's. Where I live the 270/7mm is the minimum legal caliber for elk but obviously in years past out west they were not being limited or were too ignorant to know. I know that 270 works fine on elk as does 30-06 and I know that often bigger is better up to a point. I would not use a 243 for elk even with a good bonded bullet but I also know that as the ranges increase the advantage offered by the 375 begins to fade. It is a big flat based bullet that has to plow a large hole in the air and it loses alot of its power after 300y. If out west in territory where shots exceed 300y, I think a 300WM or even a 338WM or similar cartridge might still be a better choice for elk or mulies. If you know you will be in timber where the open shots are closer the 375 is a great choice. Plus with the right scope and ballistic knowledge it is accurate and capable of taking elk at about any reasonable hunting range. Again, shot placement has priority. As long as you are capable of making a good shot it will do the job, me thinks.

My long winded point in summary is this: A well placed hit with a 243 at 500y is better than a poor shot and a miss or worse, a wounded animal with the 375 attempted at the same distance. I can hit an elk at 500y with my 375 but the groups that I can achieve at that distance do not give me great confidence that I can consistently place all of my shots inside the vitals at that range assuming a 12" circle. On the other hand with my 243, I can consistently hit a 3" circle at the same distance. It does not insure a clean kill but the accuracy is there. At altitude the air is thinner and the bullets fly longer with less energy loss but at some point the shot is no longer going to be ethical and the hunter should stalk closer or wait for a better opportunity. Your limits will vary as do my own.

 

[wswolf]

No elk but I did get three mule deer with the .375 using 285 gn Speer Grand Slams. Hunting in rather thick timber, the farthest was about 35 yards. All died quickly and the remarkable thing, to me, was that there was no ruined meat. To quote an old cowboy named Elmer, "You could eat right up to the hole".

One bullet was recovered. It weighed 157 gn and had a diameter of .62" (16mm). It went through a 6" lodgepole pine before striking the deer.

 

[Chaplin]

I would look not further than the 250-gr TTSX, the 260-gr Accubond, or the 270-gr TSX, etc., depending which your barrel liked the best. Then depending on your optics and yourself, go get some elk.

 

[RayAtkinson]

Just goes to show a 7-08 and a 375 both work if you stick a good bullet in the right spot,